The missing Mayor Bloomberg was booed heavily by the crowd at the Apollo Theater in Harlem during last night’s debate.

Three podiums stood on the stage of the historic venue – with the middle one left empty, while Democratic Fernando Ferrer and Conservative Tom Ognibene took their places behind the other two.

Ferrer wasted no time in ridiculing Bloomberg for ducking the televised debate on NY1.

“I can’t imagine why anyone would turn down the opportunity to headline at the Apollo,” Ferrer said in his opening comments to cheers from the crowd of several hundred.

At the start of the broadcast, the mere mention of Bloomberg’s name by moderator Dominic Carter, who explained that the mayor had been invited to take part but declined, drew a round of loud boos from the audience.

Since Bloomberg announced Friday that he was skipping out, Ferrer has been pounding him for ducking a debate at what is considered America’s most famous black entertainment venue.

“I’m very sad that Mayor Bloomberg has publicly chosen not attend. This is about the Apollo Theater. This is about Harlem. But this is also about the city,” Ferrer told reporters earlier in the day.

Bloomberg’s move caught some observers by surprise because he has been heavily courting the black community and polls have shown he has about 50 percent support among African-Americans – unusually high for a Republican.

Last night’s debate was sponsored by NY1 and the Campaign Finance Board under the campaign finance law.

Before the start of the face-off, more than 100 Bloomberg supporters held a rally across from the Apollo urging people to re-elect the MIA mayor.

Earlier in the day, Ognibene called Bloomberg’s absence “pathetic.”

But at a schools announcement in Queens, Bloomberg – joined by entertainer Rosie O’Donnell – dismissed the criticism.

He even suggested that New Yorkers are now obsessed with the Yankees.

“I think what everybody today is going to be focused on is the Yankees,” Bloomberg said during a childhood-education announcement earlier yesterday in Long Island City, Queens.

But the Yankees did not play last night, critics pointed out.

The mayor called the Apollo “a theater that I’ve supported for a long time. That’s wonderful for this city.”

Bloomberg added, “Other than that, I can’t think of any reason why you’d want to go.”

O’Donnell supported Bloomberg, who is participating in two other debates on Oct. 30 and Nov. 1.

“I think two is enough. We seem to be in a glutinous culture where everyone thinks all you can eat is the best thing you can do. Everyone can get their opinion known in those two debates,” she said.

Additional reporting by Frankie Edozien contributed to this report

10 questions the panel might have asked Mayor Bloomberg if he had shown up for last night’s debate.

1. Why was it so hard for you decide whether to attend the debate?

2. Next year’s budget gap is projected at $4.4 billion. What services or programs do you intend to cut to help close the gap, or is a tax hike needed?

3. Is Freddy Ferrer qualified to be mayor?

4. You spent a staggering $73 million of your money to get elected. Have you set a cap on your spending in 2005?

5. Fours years ago you said you became a Republican because you couldn’t win the Democratic primary. Polls show you could have won this year’s Democratic primary. Why are you still a Republican?

6. What do you think of President Bush’s latest Supreme Court nominee, Harriet Miers?

7. What are your priorities if you win a second term?

8. Every year you’ve attended the annual fundraiser of the All Stars Project, a non-profit affiliated with Lenora Fulani. Now that state Independence Party officials are distancing themselves from Fulani, will you still attend that event?

9. Was the invasion of Iraq a mistake?

10. You’ve agreed to two debates on Oct. 30 and Nov. 1. If the Yankees are in a seventh game in the World Series on Oct. 30, will you agree to a third debate?